The World Instant Noodles Association was created primarily to accumulate and share information about technical issues related to the quality development of instant noodles so that people can enjoy instant noodles with safety and trust. They also collect and distribute industry data such as the global demand for instant noodles.
According to the 2019 Expenditure pattern report, it was revealed that of the total household expenditure, 56.65% of the household expenditure in 2019 was spent on food, with a balance of about 43.35 spent on non-food items.
The report further states that Nigerians spent a whopping N22.7 trillion on food-related expendiures. People purchased more of carbohydrates with Starchy Roots, Tubers, and Plantain dominating with about N2.5 trillion. Rice a major staple food item cost Nigerians about N1.9 trillion while vegetables cost N1.7 trillion. It was also discovered that people spend about 4.5 trillion eating outside of their homes.
Nigerians are currently seeking alternatives to rice and other expensive food items in the market and one of the alternatives is noodles. The cost of other food items would therefore drive people to seek cheaper substitutes for the major foods available.
As we all know the ban on foreign rice has contributed to the spike in the price of rice and other alternative foods and to worsen the matter is the impact of COVID 19. The COVID period has caused an increase in transportation fares, unemployment, and companies paying half salaries. It has also impacted negatively the revenues of businesses and the financial power of the government of Nigeria. All these have contributed to low money circulation and an increase in the prices of services and commodities.
This probably has contributed to the increase in instant noodles consumption in Nigeria coupled with the constant and deliberate creation of mental images of noodles by the top brands and the use of large distribution networks.
